In this episode of Jack Douglas’ Across The Seven Seas, viewers go on the 2,500-mile voyage with Milton R. Farney and Larry Faguino and their 17-foot outboard motor Searcher from Newport, CA to San Felipe, Mexico. In doing so, the two become the first men to circumnavigate the Baja California Peninsula in a small motor boat. From his home in Santa Ana, CA, Farney speaks to the camera about the voyage (01:37). The episode then shows the Searcher as it is lowered into the water. A woman christens the ship with a bottle of champagne. A small plane piloted by Farney’s friend Bob Gibhart, practices an air drop of supplies (02:29). There is a good shot of the supplies the men have for the trip. Viewers then get a bird’s eye view of the port of Ensenada (03:30). The two men visit the Lehi II, a floating raft that attempted to drift from California to Hawaii. They check outside what’s left of the cabin. A Mexican fisherman shows how his boat is stored in a sand pile during the off season (05:07). Mexicans wave goodbye to the two Americans as they leave the port. The plane buzzes the Searcher (06:07), and footage shows a supply package parachuting into the water. The men throw a harpoon at a shark, catching the fish and hauling it aboard (07:17). Larry then harpoons a hammerhead shark and drags it to shore. Footage shows the corpses of Pilot whales that beached themselves on the shore of the peninsula (08:35). An aerial shot from the supply plane shows a colony of seals on a beach (09:22). Larry runs at the colony but fails to catch a seal pup. Back at sea, the two men see dozens of porpoises swimming with the boat (10:04). The two men paddle a raft to shore where Bob has landed his plane and set up a camp for them (10:45). The two men face rough water (12:54), but then they pass the tip of the peninsula, and see the rock formations, including the arch of Cabo San Lucas. They anchor off Las Cruces (13:40), and the two men hike to three stone crosses commemorating Cortez’s visit. Upon arriving at the port of La Paz (14:25), the men are greeted by a large group of Mexicans. While in La Paz, Larry and Milt get ice cream and a shoe shine (15:22). Next, viewers are taken to Mulege (15:50), as the Searcher struggles over sand bars while making its way upriver to the little village. They are greeted by the Salazars (16:42), owners and operators of Club Mulege. The men are taken to club and sit for lunch. There is a shot of Mulege, and the episode also shows footage of the town’s church, a boy hauling water, a man riding his donkey. Mr. Salazar takes the two men fishing in Conception Bay (18:04), where they reel in a large black seabass. The Searcher is shown caught in brush and flooded (19:26). The two Americans bail water from the boat and go through their supplies. They say goodbye to the Salazars (20:45) then head back out to the Sea of Cortez. The Searcher pulls into a clear bay (21:03), and viewers see several fishermen catch a sea turtle. The episode ends with footage of the Searcher being pulled out of sea at San Felipe (22:11), and a car pulls the boat and trailer back to Newport, concluding the voyage.

Milton R. Farney, passed away on December 8, 2017 at the age of 88. , 

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